Front door contact at Sheffield praised by Ofsted
The front-door contact, referral and assessment arrangements in Sheffield work well to keep children safe, Ofsted has found in an inspection of the authority.
Senior managers have worked hard to implement and develop the Sheffield Safeguarding Hub (SSH) over the last year, with timely and effective links to the area field work teams ensuring that children [...]
Managers have improved morale at Northamptonshire
Staff feel supported by managers, who have improved staff morale at Northamptonshire, Ofsted has said.
Senior leaders are working hard to change the culture of social work in Northamptonshire and to create a positive environment for staff to continue to improve their practice, a focused visit to the authority found, adding that there is now an [...]
Special report: Emotional neglect in children with affluent parents
Clare Jerrom looks at the challenges social workers face when working with emotional neglect in children with affluent parents including legal challenges, complaints, intimidation and hostility.
Parents from affluent backgrounds use their social status to undermine the work of social workers, a study has found.
All of the participants in the study by Goldsmith’s University said [...]
Changing attachment: cognitive wrestling, Johari’s window and a tale of two cups
Quality Assurance consultant, Terence Simmons considers attachment in the context of parenting assessments and especially what needs to be taken into account when making a recommendation for therapy.
The vast majority of the parenting assessment reports I read as a Quality Assurance consultant contain a recommendation for therapy for parents of three to [...]
Ofsted rates Surrey as inadequate
Children’s services in Surrey have been rated as inadequate by Ofsted.
While adoption performance was rated as good, children in need of being looked after and the experience of care leavers were rated as requiring improvement. However, children in need of protection and leadership, management and governance were rated as inadequate in Ofsted’s re-inspection of [...]
Experienced teams deliver high quality social work in Lincolnshire
Leaders in Lincolnshire are ambitious for children in care and prioritise resources to support social work to flourish, Ofsted has said.
Inspectors highlighted that this results in stable and experienced teams who deliver high-quality social work which improves outcomes for children in Lincolnshire.
“Strong use of children’s networks of family and friends results in a high [...]
